(A/N: Chapter 7 LET'S GOOO! Mysterious panels, questionable rat logic, and Kai probably compining about the decor. What awaits our dynamic duo? Adventure? Danger? Or just a really stubborn door? FFF to find out! Your comments are like high-grade scrap to me! ☆ ～('▽^人) )
"Well now," Kai whispered again, running his fingers over the smooth, cool metal of the seamless panel. It felt… different. Wrong. Like finding a brand new, perfectly polished chrome bumper welded onto the side of a rusted-out garbage hauler. It didn’t belong in this grimy, decaying service conduit.
The faint draft emanating from the almost invisible seams carried the scent of ozone and something vaguely metallic, but cleaner, sharper than the usual Undercity cocktail of despair and damp. And underneath it all, that deep, resonant thrumming… it wasn't just a sound; Kai could feel it vibrating faintly through the soles of his worn boots, a steady pulse of powerful machinery operating somewhere beyond the barrier.
Squeaks was pressed against the panel, nose twitching, whiskers vibrating with the effort of deciphering the scents and sounds. Kai felt the rat’s curiosity through the link, a focused intensity that momentarily overshadowed its baseline caution. IMPORTANT-PLACE. STRONG-POWER. DIFFERENT-AIR.
"Yeah, I get that feeling too," Kai murmured, crouching down for a closer look. He peered at the edges, trying to discern any kind of tch, hinge, or activation mechanism. Nothing. It was perfectly flush with the surrounding wall pting, the seam barely a hairline crack. "Seamless design. Fancy. Too fancy for Sector Gamma-Nine public works. Corporate tech? Authority bck site? Secret Slime Mold Gentleman's Club?"
He received a wave of indifference from Squeaks regarding the slime molds, but heightened caution at the mention of 'Corporate' and 'Authority'. The rat clearly had opinions, even if it couldn't voice them conventionally.
How do we open it? Kai projected, focusing on the panel itself. Any ideas, oh Knower of Small Gaps and Chewed Wires?
Squeaks responded with a feeling of negation. NO-HANDLE. NO-BUTTON. NO-OBVIOUS-LOCK. Then, a more focused sensation: ENERGY-SIGNATURE. FAINT. NEAR-EDGE. Squeaks nudged a specific spot near the bottom right corner of the panel with its nose.
Kai leaned closer, squinting in the gloom. He couldn't see anything different about that spot, but he trusted Squeaks’s senses more than his own eyes in this darkness, especially after the drone incident. An energy signature? Like… needing a keycard? Or a specific power source to activate it?
He tried pressing on the spot Squeaks indicated. Nothing happened. He pushed harder. Still nothing. He knocked. The sound was dull, solid.
"Maybe it needs a passcode?" Kai wondered aloud. "Or a retinal scan? Blood sample? My dazzling smile?" He grinned inanely at the panel, then sighed when it remained stubbornly closed. "Didn't think so."
He stood up and walked back a few paces, surveying the panel and the surrounding wall. "Okay. Think like an engineer… or at least someone who occasionally scavenged busted tech." Seamless panels often used magnetic locks, pressure ptes, or sonic keys. Or maybe…
An idea sparked, fueled by their recent acquisition of the [Targeted Distraction] skill. "Hey Squeaks! What if it’s voice-activated? Or reacts to specific frequencies?"
He focused, recalling the skill description. Create a minor auditory stimulus. Perfect. He aimed his focus at the spot Squeaks had indicated near the bottom corner. Cost: 3 MP/STM. Cheap enough to try. Activate!
[-3 MP/STM]. (MP/STM: 7 / 25).
A sharp CLANG sound, like metal striking metal, erupted right beside the panel, seemingly coming from the wall itself. It was loud enough to make Kai jump, and Squeaks fttened itself momentarily against the floor.
The panel, however, remained resolutely unmoved. No clicks, no whirs, no indication it had even noticed.
"...Okay, maybe not a cng," Kai muttered, rubbing his ringing ears. "What about a… polite cough sound?" He tried again, targeting the same spot. [-3 MP/STM]. (MP/STM: 4 / 25). A distinct Ahem! echoed briefly near the panel. Still nothing.
"Right," Kai sighed. "So much for 'innate ability to annoy' opening doors. Guess it only works on people and badly programmed drones." He felt a faint 'told-you-so' vibe from Squeaks.
HP: 13 / 40. At least they weren't actively dying anymore. But their MP/STM pool was looking dangerously low after the heals and the distraction attempts. They needed to be more careful with skill usage.
He went back to examining the panel up close. Maybe Squeaks missed something? He ran his fingers meticulously along the seam Squeaks had indicated, feeling for any tiny imperfection, any recess, any difference in temperature.
His fingers brushed over something almost imperceptible near that bottom right corner. Not a button, not a gap, but… a tiny, almost invisible indentation, no bigger than his fingertip, perfectly circur. And it felt… slightly warmer than the surrounding metal.
"Whoa," Kai breathed. "Found something." He pressed his finger into the indentation. It fit perfectly. Still nothing happened. Was it a bio-scanner? Did it need his specific fingerprint? Unlikely. This felt too… generic.
He felt Squeaks approach, sniffing curiously at his hand and the indentation. WARM-SPOT. ENERGY-HERE.
"Yeah, warm," Kai agreed. "Like it's waiting for something. A charge?" His eyes drifted to the scavenging sack at his hip. The loot from the drone… the [Minor Energy Cell (Cracked)].
He pulled it out. It was small, cylindrical, maybe ten centimeters long. A standard Zinc-VI model, common in everything from glow-mps to low-level cybernetics. This one had a nasty crack running down its side, spiderwebbing out near one terminal. He focused on it, hoping the System would give him more info.
-----------------------------
ITEM: Minor Energy Cell (Cracked)
TYPE: Power Source / Crafting Material
RARITY: Common
STATUS: Damaged (Severe)
CHARGE REMAINING: 3 / 100 Units (Unstable)
DESCRIPTION: A standard disposable energy cell, heavily damaged. Still holds a minimal, unstable charge. Attempting to draw power may result in discharge, overload, or complete failure. Can sometimes be jury-rigged or salvaged for components by skilled technicians.
WARNING: Unstable energy fluctuations detected. Handle with caution.
-----------------------------
Three units of charge left? Unstable? Fantastic. Just what he needed – another potentially explosive piece of junk. But… maybe those three unstable units were enough? Enough to trigger whatever lock mechanism this panel used?
Okay, Squeaks, Kai projected, holding up the cracked cell. New pn. Possibly stupider than the st one. I’m gonna try touching this… leaky battery… to the warm spot. You should probably… stand back. Just in case it goes boom.
He received a strong wave of NEGATIVE-BAD-IDEA-SPARKS-AGAIN from Squeaks. The rat clearly associated damaged power sources with unpleasant shocks now. It backed away several paces, watching him with wide, wary eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Kai muttered, nerves tingling. This felt profoundly unsafe. But what choice did they have? Starve in the dark? Go back and face Grok? Try to find another path that might not even exist? This panel, this hint of fresher air and humming machinery, felt like their only real lead.
He took a deep breath. Held the cracked energy cell carefully, orienting the positive terminal (or what he assumed was the positive terminal, the markings were half-corroded) towards the small, warm indentation on the panel. His hand trembled slightly.
Here goes nothing… or everything…
He pressed the terminal of the cracked cell firmly into the circur indentation.
For a second, nothing happened. Kai held his breath, braced for an explosion, a shock, or utter failure.
Then, a soft click echoed from within the panel. A thin line of pale blue light appeared, tracing the square outline of the panel itself. The deep thrumming sound from beyond the panel seemed to momentarily increase in pitch.
The warm spot where the cell touched suddenly fred with brighter blue light. Kai felt a distinct energy drain – not from him or Squeaks, but from the cell itself. It pulsed once, twice, and the light faded. He checked the System info on the cell again mentally. CHARGE REMAINING: 0 / 100 Units (Depleted).
It had used the st dregs of power from the cracked cell!
But the panel… it still wasn’t opening. The blue outline remained lit, humming softly, but the panel itself was shut tight.
"Okay…" Kai said slowly, lowering the now-dead energy cell. "So, that did… something? Powered it up? But it’s still locked?"
He felt Squeaks cautiously approach again, sniffing at the glowing blue outline. SYSTEM-ACTIVE. LOCKED-STILL. NEEDS… MORE?
"More what?" Kai frowned, leaning close to the panel again. He examined the glowing blue seam. Was there a keypad that wasn't visible before? A slot for something?
He noticed something new within the faintly warm indentation where he’d held the cell. Now that the residual energy glow had faded, he could see tiny, intricate etchings inside it. Not letters or numbers, but symbols. Almost like… circuit diagrams? Or connection points?
His gaze drifted back to his sack. The other loot. The [Damaged Servomotor]. The [Frayed Power Cable]. Could they be used?
He pulled out the servomotor. It was heavier than the battery, a dense little block of metal and wire coils, with a small geared shaft sticking out one end. He focused on it.
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ITEM: Damaged Servomotor
TYPE: Mechanical Component / Crafting Material
RARITY: Uncommon
STATUS: Damaged (Moderate)
FUNCTIONALITY: Inoperable (Requires Repair / Power)
DESCRIPTION: A standard rotational servomotor salvaged from a maintenance drone. Contains fine wiring, magnetic coils, and precision gears. Currently non-functional due to impact damage and power loss. Might be repairable or salvaged for valuable components ([Copper Wire], [Small Gear], [Magnetic Core]) with appropriate tools and skills.
POTENTIAL INTERFACE: Compatible with standard Drone Control Ports / Diagnostic Systems.
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Compatible with Drone Control Ports? He looked back at the intricate etchings inside the indentation on the panel. Did that look like… a diagnostic port? Maybe this panel wasn't a door, but an access point for servicing whatever machinery y beyond?
He tentatively tried fitting the geared shaft of the servomotor into the indentation. It didn't fit. Wrong shape. Wrong size.
"Scrap," he muttered. What about the cables? He pulled out one of the [Frayed Power Cable] pieces. Just a short length of insuted wire, maybe fifteen centimeters long, with frayed, exposed copper strands at both ends where Squeaks had presumably chewed through it.
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ITEM: Frayed Power Cable
TYPE: Crafting Material / Conductor
RARITY: Common
STATUS: Damaged (Severed)
DESCRIPTION: A short length of standard power cabling, severed at both ends. Can be used to conduct electricity or data signals if properly connected. Exposed wires present a shock hazard.
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Conduct electricity… or data signals? He looked again at the port on the panel, then at the frayed ends of the cable. The etchings inside the port did look like tiny connection points. Could he use this cable to… bridge something? Create a connection?
This felt even more dangerous than using the cracked battery. Sticking exposed wires into an unknown active port? That was practically begging for electrocution.
Squeaks, Kai projected nervously, holding up the frayed cable. Remember how much fun biting wires was? How about… carefully touching wires to specific spots? Any input from the Wisdom department?
He got back a strong sense of RECOIL-NO-THANK-YOU mixed with CURIOSITY-WHAT-ARE-YOU-DOING-NOW? Squeaks clearly wasn't volunteering for wire duty again.
"Didn't think so," Kai sighed. "Looks like it's up to the INT 6 meat-sack."
He knelt down again, peering intently at the port etchings in the dim blue light emanating from the panel's outline. There seemed to be four distinct contact points arranged in a square. Two looked slightly rger than the others. Power and ground? Data lines?
He looked at the frayed end of the cable. Dozens of fine copper strands. How could he possibly connect them precisely? He needed something smaller, more controlled.
He gnced at his hand, then had an idea. He still had that bent piece of wire he used as a lockpick back when dealing with Grok felt like the worst part of his day (simpler times!). He fished it out of his jacket lining. It was thin, reasonably conductive.
Okay. Pn… Q? R? I've lost count. He carefully stripped a tiny bit more insution off one end of the [Frayed Power Cable] with his fingernail, exposing fresh copper. Then, using his fingers, he painstakingly twisted a few strands of the fine copper wire around the tip of his lockpick wire, creating a makeshift, very unstable-looking probe.
He now had a short length of frayed cable, with one end connected (barely) to his lockpick probe. What about the other end? Did it need to be grounded? Connected to him? Or maybe… connected to the servomotor? The motor description mentioned compatibility with diagnostic systems.
He looked at the servomotor again. It had small connection terminals near its base. He tried touching the other frayed end of the cable to one of the terminals.
A new notification popped up, startling him.
[Attempting Makeshift Diagnostic Connection...]
[Required Skill Check: Jury-Rig (Untrained) - INT Based]
[Difficulty: Medium]
[Roll Required: 45 / 100]
[Rolling...] --> [Roll: 23 (Failure)]
[Connection Unstable. Minor Feedback Pulse Detected!]
Kai yelped as a small spark jumped from the servomotor terminal to his finger. It wasn't strong, barely a static shock, but it made him drop the cable and motor with a ctter.
"Ow! Scrap!" He shook his hand. Okay, so that didn't work. And apparently, he had an untrained [Jury-Rig] skill? Good to know. And also, he sucked at it. A roll of 23? Pathetic.
He picked up the components again, his brow furrowed. Failure. But the System recognized the attempt. It knew he was trying to make a diagnostic connection. Maybe he was on the right track, just… clumsy?
What did he miss? Grounding? Wrong terminals? Maybe the servomotor itself needed power? But the only power source they had was the now-depleted cracked cell.
He felt Squeaks nudge his hand insistently. The rat wasn't looking at the panel or the motor. It was sniffing intently at the other piece of [Frayed Power Cable] still lying on the floor. Then it looked back at the first cable Kai was holding (the one attached to the lockpick). Then back at the second cable. Then at the diagnostic port.
A visual fshed through the link: The lockpick probe touching one contact point in the port. The other cable being used to connect two other points in the port simultaneously. Like creating a jumper wire.
You think… I need to short two of the pins in the port? Kai thought, bewildered. While probing another one? That sounded incredibly dangerous. That sounded like how you fried circuits, not diagnosed them.
But Squeaks seemed insistent. The image repeated: Probe one pin, jump two others.
Kai hesitated. Squeaks's Wisdom was higher. Its instincts had saved them already. And its 'bite the wire' pn had technically worked on the drone, even if it resulted in a shock. Maybe rat logic operated on different principles?
"Okay," Kai breathed, deciding to trust the rat's bizarre intuition one more time. "Okay, shorting the potentially critical diagnostic port it is. What could possibly go wrong?"
He took the second piece of frayed cable. He carefully positioned the lockpick probe, ready to touch one of the smaller contact points in the port. Then, using his other hand (and trying very hard not to let his fingers touch the exposed wires), he held the second cable ready to bridge the two rger contact points simultaneously. This felt like Undercity bomb defusal, only stupider because he had no idea what he was doing.
Alright, Squeaks, stand back again. This might actually go boom.
Squeaks retreated, watching intently.
Kai took a deep breath. And made the connections.
Lockpick probe touched the small pin. Second cable touched both rge pins at the same time.
Instantly, the blue light outlining the panel fred brightly, turning almost white. The deep humming from beyond intensified dramatically, becoming a loud, resonant WHOOM. The entire panel vibrated under Kai’s touch.
He felt energy surge – not painfully like the explosion, but a controlled flow into the port from the machinery beyond. A cascade of complex data seemed to fsh through his mind via the System link, too fast to grasp, like scrolling code – diagnostic routines, system statuses, power levels.
And then, with a smooth, near-silent pneumatic hiss, the entire panel slid sideways, retracting into the wall cavity.
It worked. The rat’s insane short-circuit logic actually worked.
Kai scrambled back, heart pounding, staring at the newly revealed opening. Squeaks crept forward beside him, whiskers twitching, peering into the space beyond.
It wasn’t another grimy conduit.
Beyond the retracted panel y a brightly lit passageway. The walls were smooth, clean, made of a pale grey composite material unlike the corroded metal of the service duct they were in. Glow-panels set flush into the ceiling cast a steady, white light, banishing shadows. The air here was cool, dry, and carried the strong, clean scent of ozone and smoothly running machinery. The deep humming sound was much louder here, emanating from further down the passageway.
The floor was clean. Spotless, even. Kai looked down at his own filthy boots, then at Squeaks, leaving grimy footprints on the pristine surface. They stood out like graffiti on a monument.
This pce was… maintained. Operational. Completely different from the decay and neglect just meters behind them.
Down the brightly lit passageway, maybe thirty meters away, Kai could see the source of the humming – a rge, cylindrical machine built into the wall, complex pipes and conduits feeding into it, status lights blinking rhythmically on its surface. It looked important. Powerful.
And patrolling slowly between them and the machine… was another drone.
But this wasn't like the clunky, damaged maintenance bot they'd disabled. This one was sleek, hovering silently a foot off the ground on anti-gravity emitters. Its chassis was polished gunmetal grey, adorned with unfamiliar insignia – a stylized cog crossed with a lightning bolt. It had multiple optical sensors glowing with a cool blue light, sweeping the corridor methodically. It looked efficient. Armed. And definitely active.
Kai instinctively grabbed Squeaks, pulling them both back slightly into the shadowed mouth of the service duct they’d just exited, heart suddenly lodged somewhere in his throat.
One problem solved. A much bigger, potentially deadlier one just appeared.
The End
(A/N: They opened the door! Yay! Behind the door is... a clean corridor and an active, potentially hostile security drone? Boo! Cliffhanger! What secrets does this new area hold? Will they get spotted? Tune in next time! FFF makes the drones less likely to shoot (maybe)! ( ′ ? `)ノ)
